Edith Windsor, the woman at the center
of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case headed to the Supreme
Court, believes striking down the law would be the beginning of the
end of anti-gay stigma.

In an AP profile, Windsor, 83, said the
case which challenges the constitutionality of DOMA is bigger than
marriage.

“I keep saying, 'Keep me alive until
after the Supreme Court'” arguments in March, she said. “It's a
very important case. It's bigger than marriage, and I think marriage
is major. I think if we win, the effect will be the beginning of the
end of stigma.”

Windsor said the world had changed in
her lifetime.

“The world has progressed,” she
said. “At the beginning of World War II, they really did think we
had horns.”

Windsor sued the federal government
after she received an estate bill of more than $360,000 resulting
from the death of her wife Thea Spyer. Windsor's lawyers argue that
DOMA violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S.
Constitution.

The women shared their lives for 44
years and married in Toronto, Canada in 2007. In 2009, New York
began recognizing the marriages of gay couples, although gay couples
could not enter such unions in the Empire State until last year.
Spyer died in 2009.

“Did I ever think we would be
discussing equality in marriage?” Windsor rhetorically asked
in the AP profile. “Never. It was just so far away.”